“The problem is that a math model, like a metaphor, is a simplification. This type of modeling came out of the sciences, where the behavior of particles in a fluid, for example, is predictable according to the laws of physics… In so many Big Data applications, a math model attaches a crisp number to human […]

“Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?” — T.S. Elliot, Choruses from ‘The Rock’, 1934 I’ve been trying to wrap my head around the most recent buzz word resonating throughout the blogosphere, big business, small business, consultant jargon and argot, LinkedIn, all […]

An inherent problem with the internet or “web” as we use it today is the blind transposition of the physical into a “virtual” or “interactive” environment using what Don Norman refers to as “affordances” as opposed to truly thinking about the capabilities, differences and opportunities of new channels, surfaces and production methods. A key example […]

Skip Walter defines himself as a “serial entrepreneur” specializing in design and strategy. His “wicked problem” example centered around the discovery process in legal proceedings between Microsoft and various organizations. In short, the amount of paper documentation involved with many of Microsoft’s legal disputes were beginning to fill up entire floors of large office buildings. […]

My friend and I were at a Golden Nugget Pancake House a few weeks ago. After ordering the Denver omelet, she started talking about moving into her new, much smaller apartment. She was particularly unhappy with the living room. She folded her paper placemat in half and set it in front of her. She placed […]

The buzzword of the beginning of 2012 is “big data” when it comes to anyone in ecommerce. As storage and transfer/transmission costs decrease exponentially, the amount of data exchanged, processed and utilized seems to exponentially increase. There are many semantic meanings of the word data in the context of communications. In ecommerce, data is that […]

Ever since I started hearing the term “LBS” (location-based servicing or selling) and “NFC” (Near-Field Communications), I couldn’t help but notice the bulge in my pocket in the form of a device called a “phone” that was quickly turning into a “device” replacing almost everything I was using based on its ability to identify my […]